Why OG Anunoby Is Indiana's Best NBA Star Since Isiah Thomas

The former IU star has become a New York legend after getting the franchise its first championship in 53 years.

May 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) reacts during the second quarter of game two of the eastern conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Image | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The argument would've been over had OG Anunoby earned NBA Finals MVP.

Even though Jalen Brunson earned that honor with an iconic Game 5 performance that'll be revered for generations, Anunoby is still worthy of another important honor.

That is, establishing himself as Indiana's best NBA player since Isiah Thomas.

What Puts OG Anunoby Ahead of Indiana's Other NBA Alumni?

Go through that list of IU's pros from the post-Thomas era, (and you'll realize that a playoff run like the one Anunoby just put together is a more impressive feat than anybody else.

Shoot, the guy averaged 20.1 points per game in the playoffs, which was more than he averaged his senior year of high school.

That number was infinitely less important than the all-time two-way sequence that Anunoby delivered in Game 4, including the tip-in that's more likely to stand tall next to the Statue of Liberty than to be forgotten in New York.

OG ANUNOBY WITH THE PUTBACK.

KNICKS COMPLETE THE 29-PT COMEBACK FOR THE WIN.

LARGEST COMEBACK IN NBA FINALS HISTORY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ZtWVWY6JsR

— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2026

You could argue that was a former IU player's most miraculous moment on that stage since Thomas hobbled on one foot with a 25-point third quarter in the 1988 NBA Finals. Granted, Thomas' heroics came in a Game 6 loss in a series that the Lakers eventually won in seven games.

Thomas leading the Pistons to a pair of titles in the two seasons after that put him into "immortal" status in ways that Anunoby likely won't reach without delivering a couple more showings like that for championship teams.

But let's get back to the matter at hand, because for now, Anunoby isn't in the same discussion as Thomas.

Since Thomas was selected No. 2 overall in the 1981 NBA Draft, IU had 36 players selected. Go figure that Eric Gordon, who was selected No. 7 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, would be the next one in that group to average double-digit points throughout his NBA career.

Former IU stars like Randy Wittman, Alan Henderson, and Calbert Cheaney were solid NBA players, but they were the lone Hoosiers drafted from 1981-2007 (between Thomas and Gordon) who hit 4,000 career points.

Wittman (30), Jared Jeffries (16), Cheaney (8), Dean Garrett (8), and Henderson (4) were the lone Hoosiers drafted between Thomas and Gordon who even started in an NBA playoff game, and they only started in a combined 4 playoff series victories (that's how many the Knicks just won in 2026 alone).

With 71 playoff starts, Anunoby has more than all of those guys combined.

The only argument against Anunoby for "best IU pro since Isiah Thomas" is more recent

It's still an extremely short list. It consists of Gordon and Victor Oladipo.

The former just finished Year 18 in the NBA after his brief, but memorable stint in Bloomington. The 37-year-old Gordon's pro career appears all but in the books after he was traded by the 76ers and waived by the Grizzlies.

If that's the case, Gordon's career deserves to be celebrated. Even though he never turned into an All-Star, he was still a reliable, valuable outside shooter on plenty of contending teams. If Anunoby is still averaging double-digits in his mid-30s for a playoff team as Gordon did, that'd be no small feat.

While those cumulative statistics could favor Gordon instead of the more injury-prone Anunoby, there's one cumulative stat that tips the scales in favor of the 28-year-old — that was technically Anunoby's second ring.

Sure, Anunoby missed the Raptors' entire postseason run en route to the 2019 title because of an emergency appendectomy, but he was on his way to establishing himself as an emerging two-way star who already started in 10 playoff games as a rookie the previous season.

Seven years later, the only debate about Anunoby's impact on a title run was whether he was worthy of NBA Finals MVP.

His peak surpasses the magical 2018 Oladipo season. Yes, Oladipo was an All-Star and a third-team All-NBA selection who looked every bit like the guy who dazzled the college basketball world.

But the argument stops when you remember that Oladipo's heroics came in that Round 1 loss to the LeBron James-led Cavaliers. In his prolific, but injury-shortened NBA career, Oladipo started just once for a team that won a playoff series (he started for the 2022 Heat in Game 5 of the first round).

That's a few notches below being the second-most valuable player for a team that won its first NBA title in 53 years.

THE NEWEST 2X NBA CHAMPION... OG ANUNOBY!

🏆 21.2 PPG
🏆 52.5 FG%
🏆 50.0 3P%

He's the first player to average 20+ PPG on 52/50 shooting splits in the NBA Finals since Klay Thompson in 2019 (min. 15 3PM)! pic.twitter.com/BuD0Tm9t7y

— NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2026

It'll be a tall task for any future Hoosiers to touch Anunoby's NBA legacy

By the way, that legacy is far from over. At age 28, we might just be entering Anunoby's prime.

There's always a chance that, like Oladipo and Thomas, Anunoby's health gets in the way of him playing deep into his 30s. He's missed at least 15 games in five of his last six seasons.

But even if he called it a career today, he'd never pay for a drink in New York for the rest of his life. One day, he'll join the likes of Patrick Ewing, John Starks, and Allan Houston as Knicks legends who get a hero's welcome at The Garden.

Of course, Anunoby will be able to wave to the crowd with a little more shine than those three or any Knicks in the previous half-century.

If and when Anunoby makes his way back to Bloomington, he'll do so with a ring, joining the likes of Thomas Bryant as the lone Hoosiers in the post-Thomas era to win an NBA title.

(Logging 29 seconds of playoff action in the final minute of a 15-point win after being acquired midseason probably made Bryant's ring with the 2023 Nuggets feel a touch different than Anunoby's.)

It's been a minute since IU has had something worth bragging about. At least on the hardwood.

It wasn't quite a 53-year drought in that department, but NBA Finals brilliance from a Hoosier like that was long overdue.